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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24499471">Tools For The Job</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TTGWrites/pseuds/TTGWrites'>TTGWrites</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Gen, Romance, Therapy, Trauma</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 05:40:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,615</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24499471</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TTGWrites/pseuds/TTGWrites</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Weeks after their victory over Horde Prime, Catra is still haunted by feelings and visions of the past.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora/Catra (She-Ra)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Tools For The Job</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A hyperlink to a short track of music will be present in the last section. I feel it enhances that last bit. Feel free to disregard, however.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    Three months. Three months since the battle for their world, and the universe at large, had concluded. Three months since she had professed her love and stepped into the previously unknown world of romance. </p><p>    Three months of guilt and nightmares. </p><p>    It was a slow descent. Adora's affections and the sheer incredulity of their victory had shielded her, at first. Her newfound friends had also given her a rampart against the past, but even that was temporary. Slowly, day by day, shame, doubt, and fear had crept back into her mind like toxic vines, until...</p><p>-----</p><p>    "Rah!", Catra shouted, claws slashing around her. Where was she?! It was dark, and the air was warm; she was enclosed, some unknown cloth binding her. Unable to slow her breathing, she slashed again, the sound of tearing textiles echoing throughout the room. </p><p>    Someone was after her, but who? Even with her enhanced senses, she could make nothing out in the gloom. She strained her ears, her eyes, for the assailant. Was it Prime, here to chip her again? Was it Shadow Weaver, with more of her endless manipulations? </p><p>        These questions filled her mind in a split second, and she would have been overwhelmed had she not begun to hear a faint rustle from the center of the room. Without hesitation, she leapt onto her attacker, closing one hand around a throat and raising the other to strike. </p><p>    A muffled "Catra, stop!" came from the darkness, but she did not hear it over the blood rushing in her ears. She began to bring her claws down, but strong arms pushed her away at the last moment, her claws leaving a single gouge instead of finishing her opponent. </p><p>    Catra hit the ground hard, air forced from her lungs. As she scrambled for breath, lights came on. Adora knelt on their bed, a potent mixture of despair and shock crossing her eyes for a mere moment before she blinked it away. Adora leapt off the bed and was by Catra's side instantly, cradling her lover's head as the first rush of air was allowed back into her body.</p><p>    "Catra, are you alright?! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you! You just scared me!" Adora pleaded as Catra coughed. </p><p>    "Adora?", Catra mumbled, "What - what happened?" </p><p>    Catra's eyes widened, clarity returning with the realization of what she had done. Adora stared down at her, a gash freely bleeding from temple to chin.</p><p>    "No, no, no! Adora, I'm sorry! I didn't know, I - I couldn't see, and I was scared and...", Catra trailed off. Adora brought her hand to her face, inspecting the damage. </p><p>    "I didn't even feel it," Adora reassured, "It's okay."</p><p>    Catra rose from the ground, tears welling. "It's not okay! How could it possibly be okay? I <em>attacked</em> you!"</p><p>    Catra pulled Adora to her feet. "Come on, you need to see a doctor..." </p><p>    "Catra...", Adora started, but paused. "You're right, it's not okay." Catra's ears fell, her tail still. Adora hugged Catra close. "None of this is okay. Your nightmares, our trauma... We kind of brushed it under the rug at first, didn't we?"</p><p>    "If anything, it's my fault. I was naive, I thought you were okay. I've been having trouble too but - I had no idea things had gotten so bad for you." </p><p>    The two women stood there briefly, arms around each other, saying nothing. </p><p>    "I forgive you, Catra," Adora whispered as she rubbed Catra's back, "And I always will. Now, let's get me stitched up."</p><p>-----</p><p>    Catra stood at the door to the infirmary, eyes down and mind whirring, guilt tearing away at her insides. Adora would be there overnight, so Catra walked back to their room. She picked up the shredded blanket off the floor, inspected it. Completely ruined. </p><p>    She sat on the edge of their bed, fists balled  and eyes watering. She sat like that til morning.</p><p>-----</p><p>    Two months had passed. Adora had returned the day after the incident, stitches lining her jaw. The doctors had told her it would leave a prominent scar, but she said she didn't mind.</p><p>    Catra had agreed to seek help, but was making little progress. Many of her sessions ended up with her storming out of the therapist's office, tears and rage flowing in equal measure, until she had given up on help altogether. </p><p>    Adora watched her best friend continue to struggle, but could not approach. Catra turned her away every time, creating a painful gap between the two, which widened every day. She stopped coming to their room altogether. Adora had plied her friends for advice, and they all agreed that a different approach was needed. Adora had gone to see Castaspella, who had agreed to help. A spell to ease her mind from the inside, Castaspella had explained. However, the subject had would need to freely agree to the spell to be helped. It would not work on the unwilling. </p><p>-----</p><p>    Catra had been roaming the halls of Bright Moon without aim, bored and frustrated. She turned a corner and stopped. Across from her was the entrance to their room - Adora's room, now. Was she here? She crept up to the door and... Hesitated. Even now, she couldn't bear to see Adora or the evidence of her own troubled mind that lined her lover's cheek. Still, it had been weeks since they were last together. She missed her. </p><p>    Catra took a breath, and rapped her knuckles on the doorframe thrice. No answer - another three knocks. Her ears fell, but something steeled in her, if just for a moment. She turned the knob and opened the door before she could turn away. Catra stepped in, her bare feet padding softly across the tile floor.</p><p>    She entered the bedroom, that horrid night replaying in the background of her mind. Her fists clenched at her sides, she stood unsure of what to do now. </p><p>    "I figured you'd stop by eventually."</p><p>    Catra shrieked as she jumped and turned. Adora stood behind the door, leaning against the wall with her arms folded across her chest. </p><p>    "Adora..."</p><p>    Catra stared at her friend's face, drinking in that familiar smile, those kind eyes, her ever-present hair poof, her scar... Catra averted her eyes. "I should go," Catra said as she moved to the door.</p><p>    Adora's arm blocked the way. "Please," Adora said, "Stay..."</p><p>    Adora's arm dropped, and she took Catra's hand, leading her to the bed. They sat, silent, unsure of what to say. </p><p>    "I miss you," Adora whispered after what seemed like hours, but had surely only been minutes.. </p><p>    "..." Catra tried to speak, but her throat welled as emotions warred and tears started fall. She pushed everything down for just a second.</p><p>    "I miss you too," Catra managed to choke out. She gripped Adora's hand, stuck between wanting to never let go and running as fast as her feet would carry her. </p><p>    Adora laid down, Catra pulling her close and resting her head on Adora's chest. She stroked Catra's fuzzy feline ears absentmindedly, the habit no less diminished from their time apart. </p><p>    "I'm scared, Catra," Adora finally said, "I'm scared for you. You haven't seen the therapist in a while." </p><p>    Catra said nothing, only clenched Adora's hand tighter. </p><p>    "I'm scared for us. Every day you end up farther from me, from everyone, than before. I thought I lost you before, and I don't want to go through that again."</p><p>    If Catra couldn't talk to Adora, of all people, who could she talk to?</p><p>    "What do you want me to do? All I feel is regret and guilt," Catra admitted. "Every time I see someone, all I remember is how I wronged them, usually by trying to kill them at some point. That one village we stopped by after the battle with Prime? I tried to flatten it with a company of soldiers and tanks. Not to mention the entirety of our screwed up childhood. Sparkles isn't even aware that I'm responsible for her mother..."</p><p>    Adora purses her lips, debating. This was the tipping point - she would either reel Catra in or lose her completely.</p><p>    "I want you to give therapy one more try," Adora whispered. </p><p>    Catra froze. "...It doesn't work. I try their lame breathing techniques and I try to explain how I feel but none of it works! I tried to write everything out, I tried to change how I talked! They want me to think it through but I hate thinking about it! I can't face any of it - I just freeze and panic," She explained, "It's like my instincts take over and I run - from them, you... Everything."</p><p>    Adora said nothing at first, just continued to stroke Catra's ears. She took a deep breath.</p><p>    "Castaspella has an idea. A spell that could help... Maybe. It's not simple, but Castaspella told me that it could help you get over your mental block. And I'm not giving up on you, not ever." </p><p>    Now it was Adora's turn to bring Catra close, burying her face in her neck. "Coming back to an empty room, sleeping alone, eating alone... It's wearing me down. I need you here, I want you here. The bed doesn't smell like you anymore. I held on to your things... I couldn't believe you would just up and leave. I had to hold on to hope that you'd come back." </p><p>    Catra lie there, absorbing all that Adora had said. Worse than the guilt of the past was seeing Adora like this... Maybe this was the wake up call she needed.</p><p>    "Okay, Adora. I'll give it a shot."</p><p>    For the first time in months, their lips met, their hearts flared, and their bed had two sleepers in it, side by side.</p><p>-----</p><p>    Adora knocked on the door to Castaspella's workshop, and looked over to Catra, whose eyes were downcast, yet she still held Adora's hand. </p><p>    The door opened, Castaspella greeting them. </p><p>"Good morning ladies, please come in. Take a seat at the table and have some tea. It will ease your transition with the spell."</p><p>    Catra and Adora sat and sipped, both frowning over the bitter mixture.</p><p>    "Apologies for the taste, but the herbs will help your minds flow more freely," Castaspella explained. </p><p>    "So... What's this spell going to do?" Catra asked. </p><p>    "It will allow us to send Adora to explore your mind, your subconcious specifically, and see if we can clear whatever is preventing you from making progress on your path to healing. It should be painless. Nevertheless, I've asked Micah to help. The spell is complex and we'll need his assistance," Castaspella explained. There was another knock at the door. "There he is now."</p><p>----</p><p>    Adora and Catra climbed upon a stone platform in the middle of the magic circle, fingers intertwined.</p><p>    "Adora," Micah said, "you'll be entering Catra's mind in order to clear her block. You have to convince her subconscious that therapy is to aid her, not to harm her. Look for her most recent self, that will be the part of her subconscious closest to her waking mind."</p><p>    Adora nodded, stroking Catra's hair. "Don't worry."</p><p>    Catra tool a shaky breath. "I'm ready."</p><p>    Micah nodded, and he and Castaspella began to chant. The two lovers fell into a deep sleep...</p><p>-----</p><p>    Adora floated in the abyss. She wasn't sure which way was up or down, or if she was moving at all. </p><p>    She tried to walk forward and ground appeared beneath her feet. She stepped forward. Dark landscapes jutted around her, but she couldn't see far. </p><p>        A small shape darted around her, running to and fro. Adora braced herself. "Who's there?"</p><p>    A giggle came from the darkness. "It's me, Adora!" </p><p>    A small figure emerged, stepping into the light. It was Catra, but... as a child, from their earliest days of friendship.</p><p>    Adora knelt, holding out her hand. "Hello Catra. Do you know why I'm here?" </p><p>    Catra nodded, "You're here to help me! Thank you!" </p><p>    Child Catra took Adora's hand. "You can follow me! I know where you need to go."</p><p>    "Lead the way," said Adora, allowing herself to be lead. Various scenery sprang into being as they followed the solitary path. The ballroom from the prom, a Horde cell, the backgrounds of their many battles, the Fright Zone in all its depressing industrial tones, the cot where they spent their nights... Within each, she could see a tormented version of Catra, frozen in time. Were these her memories?</p><p>    And finally, a door, featureless and gray except for a simple handle. </p><p>    "This it it! Grown-up me is in there, and she needs you. You can convince her, I know it. Thank you for being my friend."</p><p>    The tiny feline gave her a quick yet sincere hug, and bounded away. </p><p>    Adora took a moment, and turned the handle, pushing forward. </p><p>    "Hey, Adora."</p><p>-----</p><p>    <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=C6eMBvMuZ6A">"Catra..."</a></p><p>    A facsimile of her friend, her lover, stood before her.</p><p>    "You shouldn't be here, Adora. This is my place, and my place alone."</p><p>    "Catra, I -"</p><p>    "Leave."</p><p>    Adora was stunned for a moment. She pushed on. "I'm here to help."</p><p>    "I'm fine," Catra insisted. "You can go now."</p><p>    "Not until you agree to try one more time. Please," Adora implored, "I'm losing you bit by bit every day, and I know you can feel it."</p><p>   Catra retaliated, "I've kept her safe, all this time! Whenever she feels hurt, I tell her to run. I keep her from heartache, I take the worst of her feelings and keep them deep down, where she never has to deal with them."</p><p>    Adora shook her head, "You need to confront those feeling, not bury them! I know you can! Don't let fear rule your decisions, please!"</p><p>    Catra tilted her head. "Don't believe me? Look," she said, waving her arm. A screen materialized beside them. </p><p>    Various scenes were on display. "The first time you left me. We hadn't been gone even a day, and that was all it took for you to decide to leave." The screen showed Catra sitting in their bunk, staring disbelievingly into the distance. </p><p>    "Each time we fought, all I really wanted... All I really wanted was for you to come back with me. That's it."</p><p>    Another wave of her hand and the screen changed. "Every time I tried to gain power, it backfired on me. Shadow Weaver played me, Hordak found ways back on top, and then Prime abducted me and scrambled my brains, turning me against you yet again." </p><p>    "Until you saved me, gave me something to fill my heart with other then anguish... But the past gets in the way. I can't endure it any more, Adora. I won't!"</p><p>    Adora stepped closer, and reached out and gently brushed Catra's cheek with her thunb. Even in this surreal place, Catra looked real, felt real. </p><p>    "How about a deal?"</p><p>    Catra leaned into Adora's hand and let out a sigh, half annoyance and half exhaustion.</p><p>    "What kind of deal?"</p><p>    "I want you to try one last time," Adora explained, "but not with the doctors this time around."</p><p>    "I'm listening."</p><p>    "Castaspella has a friend who lives on the outskirts of the country. She said he's very wise and compassionate... She thinks he's capable of actually helping you. If you agree to let yourself go, I believe than you can get better. We can be together again, better than ever before. And if it doesn't work, then... Then you can take Catra and run, hide, whatever it is you think will keep her safe. Please, if not for yourself, then go for everyone else who has learned to love you. Go for me..."</p><p>    Adora knew she was taking a risk with such an offer, but Catra's subconscious was otherwise immovable. She held her breath as Catra contemplated. </p><p>    "Okay, Adora. I'll give it a shot. Don't make me regret it."</p>
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